Revolt of Thrus-Sanguur
"It is time. Slaughter those vermin so Thrus-Sanguur may return to its true masters!" -Reka xir, leader of the Yaanari uprising- Fought between 2302/01/18 and 2302/03/24, the '''Revolt of Thrus-Sanguur '''was a conflict taking place in one of the planets recently occupied by Commonwealth forces after the surrender of the Yaanari league. Fought during a time where the Commonwealth's main forces, including its fleet, were to far away to assist, the revolt was a long, bloody, yet also one-sided struggle between the garrison forces and the coalition of Yaanari rebels and freed slaves. At the end of the revolt, the planet swiftly returned to the hands of the Yaanari league, revealing to everyone who had been truly behind the sudden uprising. Despite the tenacity of the Commonwealth forces under General Kelzenar, the battle was still a defeat for the nation, one of the first suffered by a land army. Outnumbered and with their ally militia constantly changeing sides or turning to the enemy, many in high command are still impressed that the garrison lasted for as long as it did. Millions of those slaves who joined the rebels believing in their promises of freedom and democracy were quickly dissapointed and brought back into chains the moment the Yaanari league gained back control over the world. Vengeful slave masters who had suffered at the hands of the slave militia eagerly punished these slaves, slaughtering thousands as an example to be learnt by future generations. Prelude A wounded planet After the Commonwealth's victory in the Battle of Thrus-Sanguur, General Aspinaca left a substantial garrison of freed slaves to act as police forces while he took his own armies to continue the fight against the Yaanari league. This action, combined with the general ignoring the protests of important, Yaanari slave masters fueled the already burning hatred of the abundant Yaanari population in the planet against their new masters. Still, unwilling to give their ex-slaves an excuse to get their revenge on them, most remained silent, waiting for the best chance to strike. As Commonwealth forces finally obtained the unconditional surrender of the league, many in high command believed that the risk of revolt would lessen somewhat. Still, knowing the Yaanari's deep hatred for any other race, armies in Aspinaca's army were left to garrison those new worlds conquered by the Commonwealth. While they were professional soldiers amongst the ranks of these reinforcements, most were a mixture of battledroids and fearsome Minervan Spiders, more suited for open battle than to keep the order on city streets. Nevertheless, the terror these troops brough upon their foes was thought to be at least enough to make Yaanari think twice about rising up. They could not have been any more wrong. Yaanari spies As the Commonwealth spread her forces across occupied worlds, the Yaanari league prepared a strategy to slowly gain back the worlds they had had to give for peace. Led by Reka xir, one of the best agents in the league at that moment, they managed to infiltrate Thrus-Sanguur, a matter which proved to be surprisingly easy as the Commonwealth's navy was not present on the system and its army was to spread out across the world's continents to notice the arrival of small teams of league agents. Moving quickly, Reka xir and his agents began to subtly organize the enraged Yaanari of the planet, secretly obtaining weapons and equipment while at the same time gathering info about the forces who would try to stop their revolt. More than half of the Commonwealth garrison was made of those slaves freed during the Battle of Thrus-Sanguur, many of whom had begun to grow tired of their new duties. Promises of a new, democratic nation not influenced either by the Commonwealth or the Yaanari league made many an ex-slave garrison change its mind, the number of forces ready for the uprising growing with each new day. Lacking forces, and not entirely trusting of his allied forces, General Kelzenar, commander of the Commonwealth garrison in the planet, could seldom deal with the growing number of rebel cells, his 1 million Karthemas soldiers to few and to dispersed to be an effective police force for a population of more than 20 billion Yaanari. Growing desperate, the general began to use battledroids to crush some of the most dangerous groups, a choice he soon regretted as the droids' collateral damage saw dozens of civilians dead after each raid. Using these death as an excuse, Reka xir made the last adjustements before finally giving the green light to the revolt, one which the garrison had saw coming, yet could do nothing against. Uprising A thousand tiny wounds When the revolt began, it did so with a bang. All across Thrus-Sanguur, Commonwealth garrisons were suddenly under attack by the planet's citizens, their sheer amount of numbers crushing some of the smaller bases in a matter of hours, as the rebels slaughtered or captured the defenders before taking their weapons and equipment. Thankfuly, while a good number of militia barracks and forts were taken, most Commonwealth proffessional forces were able to hold back the tide. Unable to hold the Northern continent, general Kelzenar focused his forces on the fortresses and cities of the South, a few of which were loyal to the Commonwealth and provided support during the coming battles. Unlike the battle which had taken place in the planet just a few years before, the skirmishes and fights during the revolt were mostly done in cities and villages, all places where the Commonwealth's tactics of combined forces lost their effectiveness. While the Karthemas of the 1st Assault Legion did fought fiercely in close combat against the Yaanari and their allies, the civilian-filled ruins of the cities made them a difficult ground to deploy the tight phalanxes of battledroids, let alone the hordes of Minervan Spiders. While deadly and agile, the chaos of urbane warfare made them a difficult tool to use with precission. For every squad of Yaanari which was devoured by these creatures, a hundred civilians were slaughtered, giving even more excuses for other Yaanari to rise up and fill those gaps left by the fallen. Who to trust? Commonwealth forces, especially battledroids and spiders, faired poorly as militia forces and ex-slave allies suddenly turned against them, many times while they fought side-by-side with them. News of how far Task Force Manticore and General Aspinaca's main army were only made more regiments of militia change sides or secretly give information about Commonwealth movements for a bribe and the promise of mercy. As one month of revolt became two, General Kelzenar and his forces finally realized they would be unable to hold for long enough. While coming from a noble house from Yadrani itself, the general refused to allow the garrison to die to a man (or Karthemas), just for the sake of honor. Each day, the glowing map in his command bunker showed less and less of the blue squares which indicated Commonwealth forces and more of the Yaanari, moving closer and closer with each passing day. Bloodied and exhausted, the remains of the 1st legion began a slow retreat to the last remaining city still in Commonwealth's hands. To cover their moves, handlers released what spiders remained on the advancing Yaanari, killing hundreds and making them pause for long enough so what little remained of the garrison (including a few ex-slaves who had remained loyal to the Commonwealth), could leave the world's orbit. Last shots Emotionless and caring little about their own survival, the battledroids who had been left behind became the last troops to fight the Yaanari. Forming a square around what once had been the palace of an important, Yaanari oligarch, 600 droids and a few dozen slaves who were not willing to leave fought on for several days before being sepulted under the ruins of the once-magnificent building. Thus ended the revolt, with victory quite clearly on the hands of the rebels. Back to normal Just a few weeks from reaching Thrus-Sanguur, Task Force Manticore was surprised to find the rebels turning the planet into a Democracy, with Reka xir as its leader. Unfaced by this, the fleet carried on, ready to take back the planet...only to learn a few days later how the previous democracy was now gone and the planet, back in Yaanari hands. Reka had played the ex-slave militia like fools, giving them promises of democracy so enough bands and regiments would disband and be easy prey for the now far more numerous and better-armed Yaanari. As the league regainted control of the world, a new terror invaded the planet, with thousands dying at the hands of enraged slavers. Unwilling to attack the planet without going to war with the league (an act which would turn many a nation of the galaxy against them), the Commonwealth was forced to fall back and leave stronger garrisons in those planets still remaining to them. Category:Battles Category:Battles involving the Commonwealth